Shark diving business: Some disturbing images

[Drew 0]

I was just sent these youtube clips by someone. A few of the sequences... well I'll let you judge for yourselves

 

 

[cor 0]

Seems like a bit of a sensationalist show. And indeed, a couple of the shots were near darwin award material.

[Long John Silver 0]

I was just sent these youtube clips by someone. A few of the sequences... well I'll let you judge for yourselves

 

Besides of some incredible shots, I don't like these activities and I will never take part to a shark feeding trip.

From one side these dives are simply viagra substitutes for the Sunday scuba divers. From environment point of view they are extremely harmful.

A shark is not a purry cat and must be respected in his natural environment.

 

In the Red Sea, fish feeding is officially strictly prohibited: I imagine you know the story of napoleon fishes killed after eating dozen of eggs every days...

BTW a couple of months ago a French diver was killed from a Longimanus attack in St. John Reef most people and operators believe that the shark attack was encouraged by some boats that practiced shark feeding illegally in the same reef days before:

 

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/4461961-post39.html

 

http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/4459262-post18.html

 

Bye

[Drew 0]

It's no secret I'm an opponent of regular baited dives in one particular area. However, if someone is going to do it, at least do it safely and not be stupid about it. Looking at the sequences from Dolphin Dream's dives, full contact with sharks , dropping someone on top of a shark feed. It's ironic that JASA, with its stricter protocols, would suffer the first death as a result of the dives.

 

My biggest objection are the kids in a cage and the piss poor wrangling of the GWS which caused it to scrap and injure itself against the boat and cage, with bloody results. It looked like the Nautilus Explorer's cage but I'm not certain. I certainly would not use that ops just for the poor wrangling and allowing kids in the cages. Sharks are being lured in for willing customers, so at least make sure the shark is safe. Ridiculous!

[Long John Silver 0]

It's ironic that JASA, with its stricter protocols, would suffer the first death as a result of the dives.

 

A stricter protocol could help the operator...... insurance but when you have many operators doing regular baited dives in the same area, the animal behavior changes causing a real damage to the environment and increasing the risk for customers.

When the Egyptian gov. stopped fish feeding in Sharm and Hurgada, they had some cases of divers injured at their hands from napoleon fishes. These innocuous but very large fishes accustomed for years to eat eggs from divers were deceived from white reflections coming from the hands of the divers and tried "just" to swallow their hand.

A couple of shots in the video with the shark bumping the back of the diver remembered me that story but, of course we are speaking of a different kind of animal

 

Bye

[crubie 1]

It's no secret I'm an opponent of regular baited dives in one particular area. However, if someone is going to do it, at least do it safely and not be stupid about it. Looking at the sequences from Dolphin Dream's dives, full contact with sharks , dropping someone on top of a shark feed. It's ironic that JASA, with its stricter protocols, would suffer the first death as a result of the dives.

 

My biggest objection are the kids in a cage and the piss poor wrangling of the GWS which caused it to scrap and injure itself against the boat and cage, with bloody results. It looked like the Nautilus Explorer's cage but I'm not certain. I certainly would not use that ops just for the poor wrangling and allowing kids in the cages. Sharks are being lured in for willing customers, so at least make sure the shark is safe. Ridiculous!

 

 

Drew,

 

I completely agree on your point concerning JASA. I was shocked to see what other expeditions do at Tiger Beach...It seems very disorganised and reckless...

Unfortunately I don't think these so called "adrenaline dives" necessarily help the cause of sharks so much as perpetuate the myths...

 

I have found Jim Abernethy to have the exact opposite approach, with a major focus on conservation, safety for the Divers and especially for the Sharks.

 

In addition, I think there is a considerable difference between dives that employ bait to attract sharks (usually decaying fish in crates) and actual shark feeds.

 

As for the shark wrangling part of the video, it is not the first time I see sharks being injured by poor wrangling (I remember seeing a great white getting a "bloody nose").

To be fair however, on this video, I think what looks like a bloody injury on the shark is in fact paint/rust from the boats hull.

Not that getting stuck between the boat and the cage could have been any good for the shark whatsoever...

As you said ridiculous...

[Long John Silver 0]

I don't think these so called "adrenaline dives" necessarily help the cause of sharks so much as perpetuate the myths...

 

I totally agree

 

I have found Jim Abernethy to have the exact opposite approach, with a major focus on conservation, safety for the Divers and especially for the Sharks.

 

It's just a business IMHO maybe with some scruples but just f*ing business

 

Look at this:

 

http://www.scuba-adventures.com/bahamas_availability.php

 

And this is just one charter! A rapid search on google and you will find at least other four/five operators. This means that during the good season nearly everyday you have at least one boat chumming the area to attract them.

This means that for those sharks, boat/diver = food. It's completely unnatural and on the long run it can change the behavior of this wonderful animals.

 

A last note on the place. It's seem to me that the so called "shark beach" area was a "desert beach" until someone found it very handy for shark circus being a shallow white sand bar far from the coast. So also the place it's completely artificial.

 

Sorry if i continue to fix my attention on sharks conservation and safety but I think that in this case the divers are just an option. This activities are so fake, deceitful that should be completely forbidden.

 

In addition, I think there is a considerable difference between dives that employ bait to attract sharks (usually decaying fish in crates) and actual shark feeds.

 

What do you mean?

 

BTW

Some operators works just with cages and long hoses from the surface so no scuba cert is required and you have to be just +13

 

Bye

[echeng 0]

The alternative is that no one pays money to go see sharks, and the long-liners come in and collect them all.

There's a balance here, somewhere.

[stewsmith 14]

The alternative is that no one pays money to go see sharks, and the long-liners come in and collect them all.

There's a balance here, somewhere.

 

It would be nice if that was true Eric, sadly it isnt. We only have to look at the Galapagos and Cocos and Socorro to see that just because diving boats are in the area it doesnt stop the long liners from robbing the oceans. Until all governments worldwide start diving and realising what we have in our oceans and learning what we used to have in our oceans, only then will the take heed. Until then I think that we will debate this topic for 10 to 15 years more until all sharks are depleted from the oceans. That will be too late as we who care know. The detrimentle effects are known by us and also by a lot of the general public. But as Rob Stewart said in Shark Water, if the governments cant see what is happening with their own eyes they will do nothing about it. If cattle and sheep had their legs cut off and were left in field by the millions unable to move and dying a slow death there would be public outrage.

 

I dont know where I am regarding the baiting/chumming situation. I am going to the Bahamas and to Tiger Beach so I am supporting it. Done " properly " it isnt as bad as being done without any concern for the sharks IMHO, but it doesnt make it right. Allowing divers to giant stride into a frenzy of sharks isnt the right way for sure, I cant think why any diver would want to do that anyway. I think you are right in saying there is a balance here somewhere, where it is I havent a clue.

Is baiting sharks any worse than putting seeds and nuts out in your garden for birds to feed. It isnt the way they naturally eat and they will get used to eating them from bird table and then stop searching for their natural food source which will have a knock on effect somewhere down the line.

 

Stew

Edited August 22, 2009 by stewsmith

[Long John Silver 0]

Is baiting sharks any worse than putting seeds and nuts out in your garden for birds to feed. It isnt the way they naturally eat and they will get used to eating them from bird table and then stop searching for their natural food source which will have a knock on effect somewhere down the line.

 

Take a look at this link:

 

http://www.coral.org/fishfriendly

 

http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2009/2...dolphinpsa.html

 

And read some comments from dive operators whom discontinued the fish feeding practice:

 

http://www.coral.org/where_we_work/asia/pa...aign/more#media

 

Nothing to see with sea but you mentioned birds, I'll continue with deers :

 

http://archive.seacoastonline.com/2004news...ports/56417.htm

 

I know that for some of us these docs seems obvious but maybe for others not.

 

Bye

Edited August 22, 2009 by Long John Silver

[stewsmith 14]

Good links, I will be writing to CORAL to ask for permission to put up some of their posters on a few jettys in Egypt where I have an apartment. Most of the ( un educated ) snorkelers that go down to these jettys are carrying bags of bread, boiled eggs or bananas for the fish.

 

Just to make it clear, I was in no way condoning feeding sharks, I was trying to make a comparison. In the last link regarding feeding of Deer they compare it with feeding of birds but do not go on to say that we should not be feeding birds, which I believe is the case.

 

Stew

[Drew 0]

Stew I do think Eric is making the point that the shark chum/feed dives bring in enough money for some places to feel the need to protect them. That has proven to be the case in Beqa and the Bahamas. In many other places, they are already protected by the umbrella of marine park areas. Now places like Galapagos which are UNESCO areas, the money from tourism isn't enough to satisfy the larger population of mainland. It is not the same as the shark dives in the Bahamas etc as those aren't the plain natural encounters which you are drawing the comparison to.

I'm always surprised that the media backlash for sharks incidents are 10 fold of anything similar (like a 'gator or bear). The Marcus Groh incident is one that I'll never understand. 10x more people die from skiing and basejumping or even exotic pets etc etc, yet which one made headlines and features on national TV news? I have to wonder whether the myth is being perpetuated or demystified by the shark dives. I also do believe incidents like last year is an inevitable occurence when you have many sharks in a chummed environment. Accidents will happen, no matter how strict the protocols are.

[stewsmith 14]

Stew I do think Eric is making the point that the shark chum/feed dives bring in enough money for some places to feel the need to protect them. That has proven to be the case in Beqa and the Bahamas.

 

Right, so are you saying Bahamas get financial gain from the feed dives at Tiger Beach, from JASA and Dolphin Dream and any other operators that dive the area. How does that work I thought they were both based in Florida. Do they have to pay large taxes to the Bahamas for taking trips out there. That would explain the high cost of these trips. Or are there a lot of operators that do this kind of diving out in the Bahamas, the only other operators I have heard of are Aqua Cat and Stuarts Cove. I admit I havent looked in to going with anyone other than JASA and Dolphin Dream so for all I know there could be quite a few.

 

Stew

Edited August 22, 2009 by stewsmith

[Drew 0]

I have no idea what the operators pay for diving at Tiger Beach but Dolphin Dream is part of the BDA which means it's also got an office in the Bahamas. I think there are at least 7 specialized shark dive ops and even more conduct them all over the Bahamas.

I know the Bahamas banned driftnet and longlining fishing for sharks in response to the growing shark diving revenue stream. They allow sport fishing of sharks but apparently it's sustainable ( I question that since the bigger sharks don't just hang around the Bahamas.) So yes, sharks feed/chum diving did give protection to sharks in the Bahamas.

[stewsmith 14]

I have no idea what the operators pay for diving at Tiger Beach but Dolphin Dream is part of the BDA which means it's also got an office in the Bahamas. I think there are at least 7 specialized shark dive ops and even more conduct them all over the Bahamas.

I know the Bahamas banned driftnet and longlining fishing for sharks in response to the growing shark diving revenue stream. They allow sport fishing of sharks but apparently it's sustainable ( I question that since the bigger sharks don't just hang around the Bahamas.) So yes, sharks feed/chum diving did give protection to sharks in the Bahamas.

Well that is good to know, cheers for the info.

 

Stew